Fushigi Yuugi: A Time Before
by Kaminari Hoshino
Summary: The book calls to those who are troubled, who need to escape the world in which we live. Those people enter into a world of trial, to gather the Seven and summon the beast God. Suzuno Oosugi was one of those people. Fushigi Yuugi: A Time Before is based


Fushigi Yuugi: A Time Before

Chapter One: Preamble To Byakko

Author's Note: This is my fourth attempt at a story on the Byakko Seven, so I pretty much have everything planned out. The only hard part is to get it onto paper.

I'm going to work my butt off on this thing though, so don't worry! Sorry for such a short chapter, the first one always ends up like this. Watch out for future chapters and please review! Arigatou!

A Disclaimer: I do not own the basic principles of Fushigi Yuugi or any of Yuu Watase's characters. I have created several, or all, of the towns and the personalities of both Suzuno and the Byakko Seven for my story's purposes.

The Priestess of Byakko walked lethargically down the street. Her footsteps stirred the dust, creating a small, yellow cloud around her feet. The sun beat down on her, burning her back through her shirt.

Stifling a yawn with one pale fist, Suzuno addressed her traveling companion, "Amefuri?" She waited until she had the man's attention before continuing, "how much further to the inn?"

The seishi looked down at her, "not too much. It should only take five minutes more."

"That's what you said five minutes ago." Kokie, another seishi of Byakko, growled irritably. She twisted her silver braid around her index finger and tugged at it. Her voice was thin and parched.

"Please stop complaining, Kokie. See? We're here already." Amefuri interrupted Kokie and pointed to a tall, wooden building that loomed above the rest of the rickety town. A sign hung down from the door. It had most likely once bore the name of the inn, but the sun had long since washed it away.

The innkeeper was a thin woman with chapped peeling skin and uncombed red hair. She carried a paper fan around with her, waving it in the direction of her face every few seconds. She greeted the newcomers with a faint smile and hello.

"Are you staying here for the night?" the innkeeper spoke with a barely noticeable slur to her speech.

Amefuri nodded, "we'll need three rooms and two meals large enough for all of us."

The red-haired woman eyed the group suspiciously before replying, batting her fan wildly, "very well then. If you can pay for it. Prices for full meals have raised with this blasted drought and all."

Kokie fished around in a saddlebag that was tied securely around her waste along with a purple-hilted dagger. Out of it she pulled three gold coins, each marked with a tiger on either side. She pushed them towards the innkeeper with a sly smile; the woman's eyes nearly bulged out of her head at the sight of the large sum of money.

"This should cover us." Kokie closed the saddlebag and swung her braid over her shoulder. It was matted with dirt and sweat from the road, "can you show us to our rooms?"

The innkeeper jumped up with a sudden excitement from the money, "yes, yes. Right this way. Follow me, follow me."

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_My name is Oosugi Suzuno. I entered the Universe of the Four Gods two months ago, against my mother and father's wishes. I had heard a lot about the book, about what had taken place here. At the time, it seemed like a way for me to escape the pressures and limitations the world had put on me. _

Suzuno was seated at one of the tables in the inn's empty common room. She drank a cup of herbal tea from a chipped cup. Amefuri sat across from her, absorbed in the pages of a book.

Suzuno stirred the tea around with her finger in silence. Weariness pulled at her eyes, but her mind was awake in thought. Thoughts and feelings about what had happened to her over the past two months, about the few trials she had faced and what she had to do next. It all seemed to have gone by so quickly.

The quiet between Priestess and warrior grew, each lost in his or her own thoughts. Suzuno finally interrupted it and spoke to Amefuri.

"What are you reading?"

Amefuri made a sound of surprise and looked up at her; "it's an old novel on the history of war between Konan and Kutou."

Suzuno noted that seishi's russet-colored hair was brushed for the first time in days; he smelled better too, "war?"

Amefuri's gray eyes smiled at her for second. He nodded, "they've been feuding with each other for centuries. Most of the time over little things that Kutou gets angry over."

"Has Sairou ever gone to war?"

Amefuri seemed a little surprised at the question, but shook his head, "no. But I think it's only because Sairou's always had too many internal struggles for anyone to care much about what we're doing. We've always been just left alone."

_When I got into the Universe of the Four Gods the Emperor asked me if I would become the Priestess of Byakko. He explained it all to me, about gathering the warriors and summoning Byakko and making my three wishes. He wanted me to save Sairou, to revive it. To get rid of drought and the awful diseases Sairou struggles with._

Suzuno changed the subject, "have you been able to locate any more of the Byakko Seven?"

Amefuri pulled out a white scroll from under his book. He untied the thick golden cord that bound it together and showed it to her. Suzuno recognized it immediately. It was a scroll that had been given to Sairou by someone named Taitsukun long ago. On it were clues that would help the Priestess locate the Byakko Seven. The clues didn't always make sense, but they had helped so far.

"One of the clues for the next seishi is 'dancer'." Amefuri pointed to a black mark on the paper, "We're going to Namagi. It's known throughout Sairou for its dance festivals. They're holding one tomorrow night. We should make it with a few hours to spare." He rolled the scroll back up and tucked it carefully away in his pocket, "I'm not sure, but it's worth a shot."

Suzuno repeated the city's name to herself with a silent hope that Namagi would lead them closer to gathering the Byakko Seven.


End file.
